Catch Up TV in the UK

Missed a TV show in the last seven days? Use a catch-up TV service. We look at the various catch-up TV options

What is Catch-up TV?

These days, missing a TV programme isn’t a problem – most of the UK’s main broadcasters offer a “catch-up” TV service. These are usually Internet-based, and let you watch TV shows that you may have missed up to seven days ago

Catch Up TV services let you watch shows you’ve missed on a computer, or on your TV.

What you need to know

It’s important to note that typically Catch Up TV only lets you watch content that’s been created for the broadcaster… so, for example, with 4oD, you’ll find Hollyoaks and Big Brother, but not an imported show like Friends that’s shown on E4.

BBC Shows: iPlayer

BBC shows for the last seven days are available free of charge via the BBC iPlayer.

Sky : Sky Go

Sky TV customers can watch and download programmes from over 30 channels for FREE on a PC, tablet or mobile phone using the Sky Go service. Non-Sky TV customers can subscribe to Sky Go to watch live TV channels and a selection of programmes on demand.
Live TV is available, including Sky Sports, Sky Movies, Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, G.O.L.D, Eden, MTV, and ESPN.

Watch on a TV: A small selection of content is available via Sky Anytime – downloaded automatically to reserved disk space on Sky+ and Sky+HD boxes.

Also available: You can also access the Sky Player via a Microsoft XBox 360 and on an iPhone / iPad.

Digital TV Services offering Catch-up TV

The best way to watch TV is on a TV set, and not on a PC screen – so here’s our round-up of the TV services that offer catch-up TV on your telly.

BT Vision: Watch Catch-up TV from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5.

YouView

The new YouView TV service offers access to BBC, ITV, 4oD and Demand 5 on your TV. The service is subscription-free, and offers a clever 7-day backwards EPG for easy access to show that you’ve missed over the past week. A great way of watching catch-up on your telly.

However, If you have a Sky+ or Sky+HD box, there’s a small selection of Sky content downloaded to part of the hard drive as part of their Sky Anytime service, but it’s pretty limited. There are rumours that as Sky’s boxes have an Ethernet socket, they may start a true on-demand service at some point in the future.

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